Riffing on Social Media

Modern life keeps us too busy and distracted to focus on important things. Like our relationships with other people. It's a shame. Social media is "intended" to keep us interconnected-- a platform on which we can share our thoughts and experiences with those we care for.

It is supposed to aid in socialization and keep us connected, but it turns out that often the opposite is true.

Because we feel we can see what is going on in the lives of others at the speed of a log in, we increasingly reach out less and less, adapting to a world of life as a disconnected voyeur. Focusing our attention on taking photos of our experiences so they can be uploaded-- instead of actually living those experiences-- present and in the moment while they are happening. We’ve all seen it. We’ve all done it. 

You haven't heard from many of your "close friends" in months, in some cases, years. Many of them don't even "like" the rare posts you put on social media, even though many of them are on those sites constantly. 

Either it's as we suspect, and they really don't even like us, or we are all becoming more numb and disconnected than we could have ever imagined. If you find yourself logging into social media sites to check for messages, and within 5-7 minutes become overstimulated and overwhelmed by it all, you’re not alone. You look around for a few minutes and bail, usually accomplishing very little in the way of communication or "keeping in touch" , as you feel your social life unraveling. 

Many of us are overwhelmed, and our main mode of communication these days doesn't work for many of us, especially the introverts. Watching the highlight reel of your friend’s lives like a movie you’re either hardly even paying attention to, or way too invested in.

When is the last time you picked up a phone and actually called someone just to talk and check in with them? And they actually answered? And you actually had a conversation that wasn't rushed and felt comfortable?

Maybe it's time we "keep in touch" with reality. The reality where human are animals who need social interaction like we need air and water. We are social creatures and rarely thrive in a mode of isolation well, or for very long. 

The modern advent of social media has created a vacuum in the dynamic needs of "real" social interaction. 

Humans need touch and eye contact. We need body language. We need to hear the timbre of your voice, and the inflection. We need to laugh, and cry, and relate on a deep level of shared human heritage. 

We cannot get most of those things on the opposite sides of a screen, sitting alone in isolated rooms.

(originally written Aug 2015)